Truffle Hunt Chess

By Charles Gilman

Often my piece articles have raised criticism for introducing pieces (or names)
not used in any variant, so here is an idea that came from an idea for a piece
in advance of the article covering the piece type. It began when I considered
part-symmetric radial leapers with a coprime element (Wazir,
Ferz, or their forward-only version)
and a non-coprime one (Dabbaba, Elephant,
or theirs). This is simple enough where the radials are different, e.g. a
Silverelephant with 5 Waffle moves
and a Goldtusk with 6, but how about where they are the same - a Wazir or Ferz
that can also continue a second cell forward? Then I recalled that in Chinese
tradition the euphemism for pig means "long-nosed general". General
means a piece moving one cell in a range of directions, and long-nosed
suggests extending forward moves. As a bonus the pattern of moves do suggest a
pig's head with the snout sticking out the front, and a boar's snout close-up
with tusks sticking out! So I decided on SOW for the enhanced Wazir, and BOAR
for the enhanced Ferz. The Boar has 6 moves to the Sow's mere 5, but like the
Bishop is confined to half the cells. Graphically the ordinary Wazir and Ferz
can represent them until David Howe comes up with a suitably porcine pair of
images!

The variant uses two FIDE sets distinguished by size, one board, and 35 dice! 32
dice mark the number of truffles on the cells of ranks 3-6 (on the board if
small enough else to the side in a 4x8 matrix), 2 mark the number in each
player's store, and the other is rolled to determined the pig pieces' success at
finding truffles. Initially the end ranks are filled with the usual pieces in
INACTIVE form, represented by small 1st-rank pieces, and they cannot move in
that form. The Pawn ranks have Sows, represented by large Pawns, in front of the
four major pieces and Boars, represented by small Pawns, in front of the four
minor ones. This has some justification as a King and Sow can checkmate an enemy
King e.g. White King c7 or c8, White Sow a6, Black King a8. How easy it is to
achieve this checkmate is another matter! The middle 4 files have 6 truffles per
cell initially.

When a Sow or Boar enters a cell with truffles one roll is made to determine
whether a truffle is found and, if one is, a second to determine whether it is
eaten there and then. If a truffle is found the number remaining is reduced by
one. For a Sow the roll for "Yes" is 5 or 6, for a Boar 6 only,
reflecting the sexes' relative abilities in this field and the Sow's need to
feed future or current piglets. Truffles found but not eaten are retrieved and
added to the player's store, up to a maximum of 6. These can then be used to
ACTIVATE the pampered masters at the end of a move - 3 for a minor piece, 4 for
a Rook, 5 for a Queen, 6 for a King. ACTIVE pieces have their FIDE moves, and
activation is marked by replacing the piece from the small set with a
corresponding one from the large one. In this variant Sows and Boars (to which
the terms active and inactive do not apply) can leap each other and inactive
pieces, but not active ones. Active Knights have full leaping powers.

A captured Sow or Boar is not removed from the game but retrained and put in the
capturing player's RESERVE. This is represented by removing the Pawn and putting
one of the same size and opposite colour in reserve, and there are enough spare
Pawns for all eventualities. An active piece captured by a Sow or Boar is
returned inactive to its own player's reserve. Any other captured 1st-rank piece
is removed from the game. A piece in reserve can be reintroduced in place of a
move, anywhere on its array rank, subject to neither player exceeding one Bishop
and four Boars on the same colour. A 1st-rank piece is introduced inactive, but
can immediately be activated by reducing the store of truffles appropriately.

There can be other Food Hunt variants based on any number of themes. Lewis
Carroll's second Alice story inspires two ideas. One is a BUTTERFLY HUNT CHESS,
with ordinary Wazirs and Ferzes as Aged Aged men (hence both their wisdom and
their slow progress!). Whether amounts found and eaten should vary between the
two is questionable. The other is an OYSTER HUNT CHESS, with a WALRUS and
CARPENTER. The name Walrus suggests to me a forward-only Waffle, both from
verbal similarity and suitability to something with strong teeth but very
vestigial limbs. It would have to be promotable - promotion to Goldtusk (add
full Wazir move) optional on the 7th rank and compulsory on the 8th, and
demotion back to Walrus optional on the middle 4 ranks and compulsory on the
2nd. Demotion may be desirable because a Goldtusk cannot hunt Oysters. Carpenter
suggests a compound of Knight and Dabbaba. Of the FIDE pieces the Knight
requires the most carpentry, and there are many other examples of wooden horses
(e.g. hobby, rocking, vaulting) as well as wooden war engines; if Homer is to be
believed the two categories overlap! Carpenter also fits into a quartet of names
- with the KANGAROO of Outback
Chess, CASBAH = Camel + Dabbaba,
and CARIBOU = Camel + Elephant - to extrapolate to other oblique directions
(e.g. Zerpenter, Zengaroo, Zesbah, Zeribou for the 3:2, 5:1 pair). The Carpenter
has the array position of the Sow but the skill and voracity only of the Boar,
and the Walrus vice versa, again reflecting the Carpenter's checkmating ability
e.g. White King b6, White Carpenter a6, Black King a8 or b8. In this variant
neither can leap an active piece radially, but Carpenters can always leap
obliquely.

MINING CHESS with Goldgenerals
and Silvergenerals is a
possibility, with inactive pieces feeling underdressed rather than underfed!
SHRIMP HUNT CHESS with Flamingoes
would need four extra ranks, both to avoid a checkmating array and to give them
access to all cells. NUT HUNT CHESS with Squirrels
would be a still bigger departure from FIDE Chess even on an 8x8 board, because
the Squirrel is so strong a piece.